Striders Half Marathon proves a massive hit

Ssenyange has now won the past four editions of the annual event, which held its 32nd running on Friday at Yas Island in the capital.

The Ugandan improved on his winning time from last year with a significant jump of five minutes and 43 seconds to 1:06:10. He was also nearly nine full minutes ahead of second-place finisher Jeremy Curran.

Sedykh, meanwhile, set the pace for the women in a time of 1:22:31 as the Russian was trailed by Jill Majir (1:28:17) and Laura Holton (1:28:34).

In the shorter distance, Ash Chambers topped the men with a time of 0:32.04 and Anne-Mari Hyrylainen won for the women in 0:32:04.

Steve Watson, managing partner of organisers Gulf Multi Sport, said: “With a combination of cooler weather and ideal course set up for runners many participants secured PB’s for the start of the local running season.

“The support from the community, the stakeholder of Yas Island and of course the fantastic volunteers brought real atmosphere to the event that continues to develop and inspire the people of the UAE to take up running and adapt healthier lifestyle habits.”

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Beach Run Series goes out on a high in Abu Dhabi

After two highly-successful outings on the beaches of Dubai and Ras Al Khaimah, the Series returned for a third showpiece, this time on the beautiful white sand of Abu Dhabi Corniche overlooking the pristine waters of the Arabian Gulf.

Held under the initiative of Abu Dhabi Sports Council and with the full support of Abu Dhabi Municipality, the Beach Run is a non-timed, non-competitive event that saw participants complete one of three distances: 7.2km, 3.6km and 1.8km all on the sand.

Abu Dhabi concluded the 2016 Series with the next Beach Run scheduled for February 10, 2017 on Sunset Beach in Dubai overlooking Burj Al Arab hotel.

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Get ready to chart your course at the Dubai Marathon

Taking place on Friday, January 20, approximately 30,000 international and amateur runners will take to the roads across the full marathon, the 10km and the 4km Fun Run distances and you can join them with registration now open.

Since launching in 2000, the marathon has gone from strength to strength and 2017 will be no different.

“We are proud and delighted to have Standard Chartered as title sponsor as we continue with the progression and international standing of the Dubai Marathon,” said event director Peter Connerton. “During our partnership with the bank – and thanks to the unwavering support of the Government of Dubai and the Dubai Sports Council – the Dubai Marathon has grown into one of the leading long distance events on the IAAF calendar.

“Today it is not only the richest marathon in the world but also one of the fastest attracting world-class runners seeking personal bests and course records.”

As well as its status as an IAAF Gold Label race attracting the cream of world-class long distance runners, it is also renowned as one of the key dates on the calendar for the UAE’s growing number of amateur runners. Already numbers are up on previous years and Connerton believes there will be another massive turn-out in the new year.

“Having so many people gather in one place means we rely a great deal on the co-operation of government bodies such as the Dubai Police and the RTA and we will again be having regular meetings in order to make the event as trouble-free as possible both for runners and Dubai residents alike,” he said.

Julian Wynter, CEO of Standard Chartered Bank UAE, added: “We are proud to be the title sponsor of the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon for the 13th consecutive year. Beyond being one of the largest sporting events in the UAE and the region, this marathon is also aligned to our continuous efforts in promoting healthy living among our staff and the community at large.

“We encourage everyone to participate in the marathon to raise awareness for ‘Seeing is Believing’, the Bank’s global sustainability programme to help tackle avoidable blindness. The Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon is one of nine marathons we sponsor globally to help raise awareness for this good cause.”